The Struggle Has Ended

Greg Hewlett passed away on January 17th after nearly eight years of battling colon cancer. While we grieve his loss, we are comforted to know that he is with his Lord.

If you would like to leave your thoughts on Greg, please see this thread.

If you would like to make a charitable donation in Greg's honor, please see this thread.

Friday, February 9, 2007

Going to Philadelphia this weekend

I was pleased that Christine was able to come down to Houston to join
me for the appointment with Dr. Hoffstetter. Given the fact that there
are no more necessary appointments or immediately impending surgery,
and the fact that we are living from suitcases this week, we decided to
go to Philadelphia for the Memorial Service of my friend, Al Groves (which,
by the way, will possibly be webcast from wts.edu).

We want to pay our respects to Al, whom I admired, appreciated, and will
greatly miss. We will be staying with our friends the Lindhs in
Ft. Washington and are excited to reunite with our friends at Gwynedd
Valley Church and the WTS community.

Post-op meeting update

The pathologist reported that the two cancerous tumors removed
from my left lung were intact with free margins. This means the
surgeon did not cut through either lesion, but got all of both.
There was no new indication of cancer in the left lung on the CT
image.

The right lung showed slight growth in the tumors there, but it is
slow enough that there is no big hurry for surgery and I can wait
to fully recover from the left. We're likely looking at late March,
but no date was set.

Any time a cancer patient is told there is nothing particularly new
to report, there is a sigh of relief. Thank you, Lord.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Meeting with Surgeon

I meet with Dr. Hoffstetter tomorrow for post-op meeting. He'll take a look at the scans and, I expect, he will tell me a few things such as how successful the surgery was, how immediately necessary it is for me to have surgery on the other lung, how well I am healing, whether I can return to work, etc.

I am in Houston ahead of Christine for the scans today, and she will follow tonight or in the morning. She is having a very difficult time right now with pain, which is quite frustrating to her. I hope she can join me.





Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Al Groves

I grieve the loss of Al Groves, who was a good friend to me. He was diagnosed with melanoma recurrence and left us within a year. He supported me when I had cancer and he did not. Then he encouraged me while we both did. Now, I will miss him.
AlLibbie.bmp
Al & Libbie Groves



Saturday, February 3, 2007

Resolutions of Edwards

edwards.jpg Jonathan Edwards is a fascinating character in American history. He was a pastor, theologian, and writer on topics as varied as philosophy, politics and even optics. He spent his life in positions as wide as living humbly among Indians in western Massachusetts to serving as President of Princeton University. He died testing a smallpox vaccination developed by a scientist friend.

I enjoyed reading Edwards during the years I lived in Boston, as I was being awakened in my Christian faith at the time, as well as enjoying connecting with the history of the area. I have always been intrigued by his resolutions, which he reviewed every week while he was alive. I uncovered them recently and was struck by the fresh challenge they set to me in my situation where I continue to skirt death and wonder if my end on earth is near. I imagine that in colonial times people were more aware of death, as it showed its face more acutely in a world where medicine was crude and life spans were short. This may not have been all bad, as the Bible seems to connect living wisely to being aware of one's own death (e.g. Ps 39:4; 90:12).

I have included below some of his resolutions which have poignant meaning to me today.



Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (1722-1723)
Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.
Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad's of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.
5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.
17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
19. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.
29. Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept.
48. Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or no; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of. May 26, 1723.
52. I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723.
53. Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.
67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.